The quest monomyth as an allegory for educational research
Written by: Scott Buckler and Harriett Moore
8 min read
Scott Buckler and Harriett Moore, Holy Trinity School, UK
Introduction
For anyone involved in educational research, there will be characteristic traits throughout the process. Such traits include the excitement of making a start, making wrong turns, encountering obstacles and the thrill of uncovering something new. Indeed, research is a transformative process, irrespective of whether a significant finding is discovered (Anderson and Braud, 2011).
One way in which to perceive research is as being akin to climbing a mountain; however, this can position research as an uphill struggle despite the rewarding vistas. A different perspective is that of the quest allegory, which provides a more nuanced approach. Specifically, the aim of this article is to explore how the quest allegory relates to the research process, while providing guidance to progress to negotiate any obstacles and proceed with the next stage of the research ‘quest’.
An allegory is a representation, either visual
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